Spurs to have heavy presence at Africa game

Team sending 3 to exhibition

Given their international makeup, it’s no surprise the Spurs will have a heavy presence in the first NBA game ever played on African soil.

Head coach Gregg Popovich, reserve forward Boris Diaw and general manager R.C. Buford are all slated to participate in what is simply named the NBA Africa Game, an exhibition contest on Aug. 1 pitting Team Africa against Team World in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The exhibition game will be broadcast live at 8 a.m. on ESPN.

Popovich, one of the NBA’s first proponents of international scouting, will coach Team Africa with a staff that includes former assistant Mike Budenholzer, now the head coach at Atlanta.

Diaw, whose father hails from Senegal, is among 10 players on the roster with similar roots, including Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka (Congo national), Miami’s Luol Deng (born in Sudan) and Charlotte’s Nicolas Batum (parent from Cameroon).

Buford is the ceremonial general manager of Team World, which includes Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Chris Paul, brothers Pau and Marc Gasol and Orlando center Nikola Vucevic.

Africa has long been a passion for Buford, who first participated in the continent’s Basketball without Borders program in 2004. Compelled by the experience, Buford and his wife adopted a young Cameroonian named Alexis Wangmene, who went on to star at Central Catholic and the University of Texas.

Buford’s sister Anne later directed “Elevate,” a well-received documentary on the experience of four Senegalese teens striving to earn college scholarships in the U.S.

Leonard deal done:Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard has officially re-signed, the team announced Thursday. Terms were not disclosed, but Leonard is expected to have signed a five-year contract for roughly $90 million, the maximum allowed for a player of his experience.

Leonard joined Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in NBA history to win Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award after Leonard earned the latter honor last season. In addition to earning All-Defense honors for the second straight season, Leonard set career-highs with 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and a league-leading 2.3 steals per game.

Summer League: Kyle Anderson scored 25 points, including the go-ahead free throws in the final minute, and Jonathan Simmons (18 points) provided the final margin on a layup with 20 seconds left as the Spurs beat the Nets 74-71 in the round of 16 of the Las Vegas Summer League playoffs.

McCarney was an undrafted free agent out of Mankato State (Minn.) when he signed for the league minimum with the Laredo Morning Times in 1996. He earned his call-up to the San Antonio Express-News in 2000, paying his dues in the high school ranks before covering UTSA and, beginning this season, the Spurs, allowing him to write about his favorite sport and take orders from Jeff McDonald and Mike Monroe. McCarney also covers the Scorpions, where he gets his fix for the Beautiful Game.